The fashion tone for the 45th annual CMA awards seemed destined for diversity taking it’s cue from the wild mix of celebs who walked the red carpet. The eclectic personalities, television’s Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet, Food Network personality Sandra Lee, Governor and First Lady Haslam and music legend Lionel Richie all rubbed shoulders with country music’s finest. And the same eclectic spirit was evident in the fashion choices for the night with dresses that were dramatic, sexy, ethereal and vintage. Somehow, like the mix of red carpet celebs, it all seemed amazingly cool.

Taylor Swift: She still rocks the ingenue, but with a decidedly glamorous take. Almost angelic, this gown in signature Swift. Feminine and pretty, she never strays too far from her fashion roots on the red carpet. And while other young celebs try to dress in-your-face sexy, Swift knows the way to land on the best-dressed list is to be true to her personae.

Jennifer Nettles: Nettles scores a big fashion win in a vintage looking dress that evokes a 1920s starlet. She always seems to choose dresses that are vintage glamorous, and she still manages to look totally modern. I love the soft color, a watery blue green, and the cut of the gown is perfect on her small frame. By designer Naeem Khan, the gown is stunning.

The Band Perry may have accepted a slew of trophies on Wednesday night, but the night before the CMA Awards, the sibling trio was anything but confident they would walk away with anything.

“We have not thought about acceptance speeches yet,” admitted Kimberly Perry on Tuesday night. “I’m sure we’ll try to have something to say if we’re lucky enough to win an award. The great thing about this year is that there’s so much stiff competition, there’s so many great songs, there’s so many great artists. We’ll see, but we’re just proud to be part of the bunch.”

However, the band has more to be thankful for than their CMA Awards -- in some of the first awards of the night, they won song and single honors, and followed with new artist. The trio said they found out earlier this week that their debut album was only a few thousand units away from platinum status, 1 million copies sold.

"I love the creative writing process of coming up with ways to lampoon what's happened in the last year, whether that be in country music or the news," said Paisley.

He is co-hosting the show with Carrie Underwood for the fourth year in a row. It's a job that requires charisma, timing and, according to veteran CMA host Vince Gill, self-discipline.

Gill said the only thing he learned from 12 years at the helm was to "know when to shut up."

He said hosting the three-hour live telecast is "really quite a dance." It involves watching the clock and improvising when things don't go as planned.
Ultimately, Paisley and Gill agree that the job is really about making everyone look good. So Hank Jr. shouldn't worry too much.

"I love it, because we're all so nice," said Paisley. "We're not going to go out there and make people feel bad. It's not a Comedy Central roast."